Publisher's Summary

Meet Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead. After inheriting a highly specialised and highly peculiar medical practice, Dr Helsing spends her days treating London's undead for a host of ills: vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights and entropy in mummies.

Although barely making ends meet, this is just the quiet, supernatural-adjacent life Greta's dreamed of since childhood. But when a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead alike, Greta must use all her unusual skills to keep her supernatural clients - and the rest of London - safe.

Plenty to enjoy in this novel which cries out for further instalments. Something like a fractured horror-tale, with a wink and a nod to classic horror tales the characters are fresh and modern takes on themes such as the vampiire (or vampire), mummies, a driven scientist, a museum curator, ghouls banshees, secret cabals of mad monks, the devil, etc. The pace is lively without being hectoring. There is time to set up the story and plenty to keep you interested as it happens. Some of the characters are barely sketched in. I look forward to hearing more about the witch and the half-Russalka who help out at the surgery. I hope their frequent mentions mean that Ms Shaw is well into writing Book 2.

Greta is a bit myopic, to ensure the requisite dangerous situations. I worried about her driving when she had barely slept in days, for example. Her willingness to feel guilty for things that have nothing to do with her is a bit tiresome. Overall it's interesting to have a protagonist who heals monsters rather than slating them (mostly). The minor theme that life is better with friends, and the relationships that develop between secondary characters - not just with Greta - give the story a welcome upbeat flavour, amid the dark doings & deaths.

If you enjoy Ben Aronovitch, Benedict Jacka, Ilona Andrews, or Faith Hunter this is likely to appeal. Or Grimm or Penny Dreadful tv shows.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

G. P. Brown

15/01/18

Overall

Performance

Story

"Bit of a disappointment."

Would you try another book written by Vivian Shaw or narrated by Suzannah Hampton?

It is probably a no to both the author and the narrator. I was not a giant fan of either of them.

What will your next listen be?

Not the sequel to this one that is for sure. I'll probably head back to the epic fantasy or sci-fi genre. I hate to put the boot too hard into this book as the truth is I have way more misses than hits when I venture into the Urban Fantasy genre.

How could the performance have been better?

I feel like Suzannah Hampton did a poor job with the audio. She had a clear voice and was well-spoken but had no talent for voice acting. She just read everything in a dull monotone and made little to no distinction between regular prose and dialogue.

Another big issue was the way the POV transitions were handled in audio. There was no pause between switches which was actually a little confusing. A tiny pause would have made it clear a POV transition was occurring.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Just boredom and vague sense of disappointment that this one was not working for me as I do feel like the premise of the story was a good one.

Any additional comments?

I felt like the story had potential but the execution was poor. Shaw's writing felt weirdly formal and distant which made it hard for me to connect with any of the characters. Despite the fact that Greta is the headline character this book had more of an ensemble cast as the POV's jumped from Greta to her fellow cultist trackers. Lord Ruthven, a regular vampire. Francis Varney, a vampyre. Fastitocalon, a demon. All three are characters from literature Shaw has repurposed for the story! I actually felt like all the character had decent potential which only made it more frustrating that this story never worked for me.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

mat brown

23/01/18

Overall

Performance

Story

"What a book"

After what was a pretty slow start this story took off

Compelling characters and a wonderfully described world the author aced them both

I can’t wait for the next one

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Clarence

Oxfordshire

9/01/18

Overall

Performance

Story

"Potential for more....(please?)"

I really liked this book, characters & style.

The idea of the "monsters" living alongside us unbeknownst to us appeals to my imagination. Hiding in plain sight as it were.

I feel the author definitely has ammunition to write some more from the dark hidden underworld and could easily spin off in different directions or perspectives. The characters have a slightly gothic, vintage feel to them, but they are reluctantly creeping into modern ways.

I like that the main character befriends and heals the "monsters" and its a family tradition. The idea of odd friendships that work despite being different species is slightly different I feel as they are normally portrayed as baddies.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Carrie5012

Ireland

22/12/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Loved this! "

Loved this, great story and narration. Only small niggle, the lack of a pause between a change of some scenes and character viewpoints made for slight disorientation but loved the story and the narrator is excellent.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

madeline downham

10/12/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great story, wrong narrator"

What did you like best about Strange Practice? What did you like least?

I loved the whole idea of the tale, thought the narrator was so wrong for it

Who was your favorite character and why?

The odd Demon character (Vas?), he was complex and strange, sadly hated the way his name was pronounced so fully most of the time.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Suzannah Hampton?

S.H's voice was too monotonous, nice, well modulated but too even and crisp all the way through, no humour at all. A narrator with more inflection, maybe able to change pace a bit? Maybe someone who could inject a humorous pace, alter voice slightly for different characters?

Could you see Strange Practice being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

I listened to it all the way through because the story is good. I began to wish I'd read it though. The narration was wearing, every sentence started with sharp enfaces, regardless of the action. Reminded me of an actor trying too hard to add drama to a boring speech. I would not recommend this as an audible listen, but as a book to read.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

KSL

Lancre

26/11/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Engaging and enjoyable"

Very glad that I took a chance on this, as it proved to be delightfully entertaining with an engaging group of characters whose future exploits I look forward to reading of in the books I hope will follow this one.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Nicci

UK

15/03/18

Overall

Performance

Story

"Excellent."

An extremely enjoyable and satisfying read. Entertaining and well-written. If you love London, the gothic and the urbane, you will like this novel.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Beccameriel

London, United Kingdom

14/03/18

Overall

Performance

Story

"Even the undead need a doctor"

This a very promising start to a series. I love the idea of a doctor to deal with London's undead, monsters and other miscellaneous supernatural bods. I also love the idea that Greta has to deal with the realities of this career not paying very well. Of course, magic in London is the reason I continue to exist and breathe (in a purely literary way). More of this sort of thing please and thank you.

Suzanna Hampton is generall great BUT considering one of the main characters is Lord Ruthven, somebody really should have told her it's pronounced Riv'n (ridiculous though that is). I was exhausted by having to mentally correct it every time he is mentioned.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

sara

20/02/18

Overall

Performance

Story

"Can’t wait for more!"

Really enjoyed the story line and imagining the varying characters who are colourfully described.I’m really looking forward to more in the series.Great narration unlike some audio books that sound robotic and auto-tuned.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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